Yifan woke up amongst heaps of pillows and sofa cushions, his body cocooned in thick white comforter which nearly caused him to die from asphyxiation. His neck and shoulders felt stiff for sleeping on the carpet, but he didn’t pay much attention to it and dived again in the piles of pillows to resume his slumber only to realize that he was sleeping the living room.

In the process of freeing himself from the mounds of supports, his shin hit the leg of the coffee table, so he walked like a crippled man towards the kitchen while writhing in agony for his misfortune. He grabbed a glass from the drying rack and poured himself some water from the dispenser. He closed his eyes as the liquid bathed his parched throat, letting out a low ‘aaaah’ after he finished gulping down the whole glass. Helping himself with a refill, he perched his on the kitchen counter and tipped the glass towards his lips, when his eyes caught a sight of a half empty green-tinted transparent bottle behind a basket of fruits.

10 hours before

The wine glasses made a loud clink as they met each other mid-air.

They were sitting on the carpeted floor of Yifan’s living room; a humble coffee table in place of posh furniture, mp3 playing on the phone instead of live violinists, and home-delivered menus rather than artfully styled dishes. The only thing that was near to fancy was the red wine Yifan bought from Prague.

“Never in my life I’d imagine pairing sweet sour pork and fried chicken with expensive wine like this.” Joonmyun put down the glass down to pick up the chopsticks on the coffee table. He took a piece of the pork and brought it towards the taller. Yifan however knew the trick Joonmyun had in mind so he grabbed the hand that was holding the chopsticks. He nearly poked his nose in the process of eating the piece of pork off the chopsticks, causing the smaller to double in laughter.

“It doesn’t matter what you eat, it’s with whom you’re eating,” Yifan stated.

Joonmyun just nodded to Yifan’s statement before he stuffed another piece into his mouth. His chewing slowed down when he realized an intense gaze fell upon him from the opposite side.

“What is it?” Joonmyun’s voice came out shaky from nervous laughter. 5 months they had been dating, yet he haven’t got a clue why sometimes Yifan would just stop whatever he was doing only to stare at him with such intensity.

“I’m just wondering how it feels like to live together with you.”

Yifan watched as the other stopped chewing at once. Joonmyun placed down the chopstick carefully on the napkin laid on the table before he placed his hand atop of Yifan’s.

Softly yet clearly, Joonmyun uttered, “We’ve talked about this before.”

Yifan turned his large palm upwards, curving his fingers to trap the smaller’s ones underneath his. “You said it’s too soon but… Joon, I’m not asking for you to marry me, at least not now. I just to want you to– I want you to stay with me.”

“I…” Joonmyun hesitated, “I need more time. I hope you understand.”

Yifan slowly released his hold. “I understand,” he answered, trying to conceal his disappointment but it showed all too well.

They stayed in silence for a while, both doing something else other than looking into each other’s eyes. It was not supposed to be like that, they should be happy for they finally got to see each other after parting for a fortnight. Yet there they were sitting in voicelessness; the only sound were faint English pop songs playing in the background over their soft breathing.

A sudden blare of electronic song came from Joonmyun’s phone.

“Go on, take the call,” said the taller.

Joonmyun mumbled an apology – for what Yifan wasn’t sure – as he walked away from the living room. He was quite far from Yifan, but that house proved to have a good acoustic when Yifan could still hear Joonmyun’s faint voice talking to a colleague that he had known too well.

The throbbing pain he felt in his temple almost made him to lose his grip on the glass he was holding. Yifan placed the glass down onto the counter to scour through his cabinet, searching for some analgesics to take. The pills tasted bitter as they passed down his throat, but not as bitter as he felt at that moment.

It took him a few seconds for him to notice another bottle of the same kind sitting idly in his trash bin. It could only mean that someone finished that whole bottle, and opened another one. He didn’t remember Joonmyun drinking that much so it must had been him. And if he drank that much, it could only lead to one thing.

9 hours before

“Yifan, I need to go back to my place now….” The end of Joonmyun’s sentences came out trailed as he looked at the living room in surprise. There was a sheet of white fabric covering the sofa, the seat cushions of the sofa were upright and Yifan was nowhere in sight. Joonmyun spotted an empty wine bottle lying on the table and another one already half emptied.

“Yifan?” Joonmyun called out for his boyfriend when suddenly the white sheet went flying across the table.

“BEHOLD!” the taller emerged from the makeshift fort he made on the sofa. He was holding the lightsaber that Joonmyun bought as a gift when he visited Japan with his colleague.

“Tis I, Sir Yifan of Guangzhou,” Yifan lifted up the lighted sword and pointed it towards the smaller before he got out his manmade fort with wobbly feet.

The drunken man made his way in front of his dumbfounded boyfriend. He had the same ardent gaze like he had before and it made Joonmyun’s knees shaking without him realizing.

Out of a sudden, Yifan got down on his knee and took Joonmyun’s hand to place a kiss on the back. “At your service, my princess.”

“!” Yifan cursed out loud, recollection pouring in like running tap water. He had never been drunk in front of Joonmyun before and it was the last thing he wanted to do, for he had known of his habit when he had too much of a liquor.

That’s right. Wu Yifan, a 28 years-old man with a default face and height that could tower most people, was actually a big ball of embarrassment when he’s drunk. He would become a knight in shining armour, fighting evil monsters and warlords. Fighting for what, he was still not sure. But last night was the first time ever in his life he got on his knees and called someone ‘my princess’, and that someone turned out to be his potential husband.

Yifan wallowed in self-pity on the messy sofa – there’s a chance for him to end up being single all over again – when he heard a voice that he had been so familiar with calling his name.

Joonmyun was standing at the doorway in Yifan’s black PIGALLE hoodie – too large for his frame he was literally swimming in it – and in a grey boxer that he left in Yifan’s place but never bother to retrieve it back.

“Joon? I thought you went back last night.”

“No… You told me to sleep in your ‘knight chamber’ while you were out here guarding me from… umm.. monsters.”

Yifan covered his face by his hands; too embarrassed to face his boyfriend (possibly ex-boyfriend in very near future). He felt the weight shifted beside him and heard the long, deep breath Joonmyun took before he said hesitantly, “I want to tell you something.”

That’s it. That’s the end of Wu Yifan’s 5 months-old relationship and the start of his single life. Joonmyun was not his first but he was so sure that Joonmyun would be his last. Never had he imagined that it would end just like–

“I want to move in with you.”

– that. His brain was a bit slow on the intake because it was totally different from what he expected.

“What?”

“I said,” Joonmyun stretched out his bare legs, “I’m ready to move in with you.” He put down his legs on the floor as he turned to look straight into his boyfriend’s eyes. The impact of his words was visible on the Yifan’s face; widened eyes, gaping mouth; he looked a bit stupid like that. But a cute kind of stupid.

Joonmyun gave a silent nod with a smile on his face. Yes you heard me right.

Yifan’s large hands enveloped his small, albeit hidden ones. Are you sure about this?

Joonmyun nodded some more; his face etched in determination.

 A loud shriek came from the smaller as he was pushed down onto the sofa. Yifan embraced the smaller with his large arms and peppered his lover’s jaws and neck with kisses. Joonmyun laughed breathlessly as the taller attacked his ticklish spots.

Yifan put his head where the smaller’s neck and shoulder met. He gave one last kiss there before he pushed himself up with both his arms beside his lover’s head. Joonmyun spread his legs open to accommodate the taller man atop of him.

Yifan mapped the features of Joonmyun’s face with his eyes. That person he trapped underneath him would be the same person he fell asleep with and woke up to. No matter how he thought of it, he was still in a state of disbelief.

“Why suddenly you decided to move in with me?”

Joonmyun’s hands climbed up to circle the taller’s neck. “That’s a secret I want to keep for myself.”

8 hours before

“Are you sure you want to sleep outside?” Joonmyun coaxed the taller. After an ‘epic’ battle with Ace the Alpaca Shifter, they were hiding in Yifan’s bedroom. Yifan insisted that Joonmyun should stay draped underneath a big blanket, for a monster might catch a sight of the ‘princess’ and kidnap him afterwards.

“It is my duty to protect you from any harm or danger.” Yifan got up from the bed and tiptoed towards the door. He poked the white alpaca doll lying just outside the door with his lightsaber through the small opening and closed the door tightly afterwards.

“I understand your intention Yi– Sir Yifan, but I don’t need a warrior to protect me. I can take care of myself.”

 Yifan put the toy sword on the bed before taking the cover off his lover’s head.

“You might not need one right now, but when you do, remember that I’ll always be here for you.”

Yifan left a kiss on his lover’s forehead and then grabbed his toy sword.

“Sleep well, my princess,” Yifan promptly left the room.

Joonmyun stayed frozen on the bed; the heat from Yifan’s lips lingered on his forehead and the weight of the words he heard slowly sank in. He didn’t realize how much Yifan has been giving and how he kept on taking without any return.

He put his head on the pillow. It smelled like Yifan, and somehow it smelled like home.